Coming Home
by Glow1012
Summary: Although it may not seem so at first, this is a story for Kitty fans. Please bear with me till the end. It will be worth the struggle.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I never met the Producers, the Directors, the Writers or the Cast. I don't mean to cause problems, nausea or muscle aches. Please don't sue me…I have no money and I won't do well in jail. I do not own any of these characters but it would be nice if I did. Give a man a match and he will be warm for a minute. Set him on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

Although it may not seem so at first, this is a story for Kitty fans. Please bear with me till the end. It will be worth the struggle.

Matt's Love Story was written by Ron Bishop and directed by Gunnar Hellstrom. The episode aired during season 19. Although I have taken license with the story, I have also borrowed some of Mr. Bishop's dialogue, This is an alternate (made up) version of what might have happened between Matt Dillon and Mike Yardner. Thanks to the stunning AnotherRedhead for letting me steal her storyline. I hope I have done it justice.

Coming Home

Chapter 1

He trained his eyes on Matt Dillon as he spoke to his horse. The horse turned his head toward the voice as if he were listening and under the horse's watchful eye, Lester Dean set up his rifle rest and loaded the rifle.

"Oughta be a law about the law. This un here, though, he's got sand to 'im most of em don't have. Still and all, gonna lose his life. They don't never learn." With that, he perched his rifle on the rest, aimed and fired. Matt Dillon hit the ground with a thud.

On his belly, Matt crawled toward the pistol that had been thrown from its holster during the fall from his horse. Lester Dean rode to where Matt lay struggling to reach his gun and dismounted for a closer look.

As Matt reached for the pistol, Dean rendered him unconscious with a blow to the head from the butt of his rifle. He knelt next to Matt's prone body and rifled his pockets, removing his badge as a souvenir. He mounted his horse. "They never learn." With those words, he rode away, leaving an unconscious Matt lying in the sweltering sun.

Three days later, Matt opened his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar room made cozy by the smell of son of a gun stew simmering on the stove and biscuits in the oven. A woman with red hair that reached to her waist stood over the stove and looked up when Matt groaned.

"You're back with the livin I see." She smiled and went to him, bringing a cool, damp cloth to wipe his face and some water for him to drink.

Matt pulled back from her and looked at her questioningly. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name is Mike Yardner. You're in my home where you been since Sutler and I found ya in the desert. Ya look a might worse for wear I'm afraid. I think the important question is, who are you? Ya got no papers on ya."

Matt paused and realized he had no answer to her question.

She continued. "Where ya from? Who shot ya?"

Matt's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Confusion washed over him in waves. "I don't know."

"You don't remember nuthin?" Mike could hardly believe it. She had heard about things like this happening but had never witnessed it or known anyone it had happened to.

"I guess not." The harder Matt struggled to remember, the more elusive the information seemed.

"I heard about this happenin but seein it in front a me. Ain't that somethin?" She was stunned.

Matt didn't know where he was but he felt that he didn't belong in this place. "Sorry to have troubled you ma'am. I'll be leaving."

Mike chuckled. "You ain't fit for travelin. That ankle cain't be walked on and that lump on yer head will keep ya down for a bit."

Matt realized his struggle to rise was futile as he couldn't move his leg much less stand on it and the dizziness was overwhelming. He lay back down. "Did you say your name was Mike?"

She shrugged. "I was supposed to be a boy. I'm gonna call you Dan cuz Daniel came into the lion's den and that's what you'll be in if you take light to circumstances hereabout."

In answer to Matt's question, Mike explained how she and Sutler, her dog, went out searching for him after his horse wandered onto her property. Matt slowly sipped some of the water she had brought him.

"Ya know I may not remember who I am or how I got here but I'll tell you one thing. I never knew anybody called Mike who looks as good as you do."

She eyed him suspiciously. "You wanna know sumpthin? I shoulda never picked you up. Never."

Matt smiled wanly and drank his water.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Coming Home

Chapter 2

Everyday he grew physically stronger but his memory was no closer to returning than it had been on the day he woke. As Dan, he mended the property, chopped wood, tended the animals, and worked the fields. Mike was grateful for the help.

Their days were spent side by side, working hard to make a living. Mike had worked this place with her husband, Johnny Yardner, and had never given thought that she might have a partner again. His sudden death three years earlier had hit her hard. Taking a break, she leaned on the hoe she was using in the garden and rubbed her chin. Dan was mending the fence to the corral that held his buckskin and her saddle mare. He was pleasing to the eye, no doubt about it. What attracted her most, though, was his confidence. He had an air about him that said he had been someone in authority. He was kind but not weak. He was strong but not arrogant. Capable but not domineering. He was all man and he was the kind of man she thought she would never meet again.

They both wondered what his previous life had been. Dan gave more thought to it than did Mike. What had he left behind? Did he have a family? A wife? Children? How did he make a living? Who had shot him and why? While he worked, he searched in his mind for information that wasn't forthcoming. Although Mike seemed content to have him there, he was restless. He needed answers and he wondered how he could manage without such basic information as his name, his occupation, his connections. He must have had a life before he woke up on that cot in Mike's kitchen. There must be people out there who were worried about him, who were waiting on him to come home.

Mike called him in for supper. It was late and he was tired. After their meal, Mike settled in a wing back chair and he settled in a rocker. It was Mike who broached the subject.

"You're almost well now. You'll be needin to decide shortly."

Matt sipped the coffee she had placed on a side table for him. "Decide?"

"You'll need to be decidin whether you're leavin or stayin."

He ran his fingers through his hair and thought for a minute. "I didn't realize it was my choice, Mike."

She rose and walked to the fireplace, keeping her back to him to hide her emotions. "Well, it is." She hadn't felt this vulnerable in years and it was uncomfortable. "I can use the help around here and you're comin along."

Matt leaned back in the rocker, his eyes closed. He was unsure what to do. He cared for Mike. She had saved his life and had been good to him but he didn't know who else was out there, who was waiting for him and looking everyday for him to come riding up on his big buckskin.

"I don't know, Mike. I don't know if I'm married with a bunch of kids."

She went to him and knelt by the rocker. "You're not married. You have a way about you that married men just don't have. You're a range bull, there's no ring in your nose."

He thought about that for a minute. He hadn't considered the possibility that there was no one waiting for him. Maybe he had always been alone, no wife, no children, no job. A drifter with no ties. At any rate, he had no ties he knew of. Here was a woman who was willing to have him, to be with him.

"Mike, I don't know who or what's out there for me, if there's anything. I don't have a job, I don't have friends..."

She looked up and her eyes met his. "It would be mighty lonesome for ya out there, not knowing anybody." She rested her fingertips on his the back of his hand.

He nodded slowly. "I don't know what's out there but I know what I've got right here. I'd like to stay, Mike."

Her heart leaped into her throat. She hadn't realized how much she wanted this man. If anyone had told her 10 days ago that she would come to care for a man who didn't know his own name, she would have believed they had fever. Now, she had this man in front of her, the only name he had was the one she had given him, and she wanted him to stay. She wanted him. Mike quickly regained her composure.

"I'd like that, Dan." She stood slowly and reached for him. He took her hand and allowed himself to be led to the bedroom.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Coming Home

Chapter 3

He awoke the following morning to the smell of bacon frying and Mike humming happily. He yawned and stretched before climbing out of bed and pulling on his pants. He quietly came up behind her as she stood at the stove and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her softly on the neck. He couldn't see the smile that lit her face.

"You best be stoppin that if you want breakfast."

He squeezed her gently and took a seat at the table. She had already poured his coffee and he liked the way the cup felt in his hands as he raised it to his lips.

"That smells awful good ya know." His mood was lighter and he realized he had no care as to what his actual name might be or where he might be from. He felt at home.

Mike brought their breakfast to the table, setting his plate in front of him. "Glad you're up early. There's work to be done." Her words were betrayed by the easiness of her tone.

They ate their breakfast in companionable silence and when she rose to clear the table, he took her hand and kissed it.

"Well, I got work to do. That fence ain't gonna mend itself."

"I'll finish up in here then I'll be in the garden. There's a pig that needs butcherin if you want to eat somethin besides stew."

He left the house wondering if he knew anything about butchering pigs. As it turned out, he didn't so Mike did the butchering and he helped her hang the meat in the smokehouse. He admired that she was so independent. A woman like Mike didn't need a man but she wanted him. He considered himself fortunate indeed.

They spent the passing days working together and the nights in each others arms. He realized she was falling deeply in love with him but he was powerless to stop it. At some point each day, he considered leaving but was painfully aware he had no place to go. He had deep feelings for Mike but he knew her feelings for him were stronger than his for her.

He was happy with her. She made a home for him. He felt loved and needed. He didn't know if he had felt that way before in his life but it was good to feel that way now.

Mike took a break from cooking dinner and stuck her head out the door to check on him. "Dan! You're loafin." She laughed.

"Sorry. I was thinkin. Guess thinkin and loafin look a lot alike."

"Anything that needs to see the light a day?"

Matt shook his head. "Nope. Nuthin." He went back to chopping wood.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Coming Home

Chapter 4

The evening was slipping into nightime as they sat in front of the fire. He was reading the Bible and she was mending clothing. They were both drinking coffee, comfortable with the quiet crackling of the blaze. She sighed contentedly and looked at him. He was so big and strong and healthy, he had come so far since she found him that day in the desert. Her heart burst with love for him. He felt her gaze and looked up, offering her a warm smile.

"Dan," she felt tentative but she had to get the words out.

Sensing the seriousness of her tone, he laid the Bible on the side table and gave her his full attention. "What is it, honey?"

Her fingers played nervously with the garment lying in her lap. "I've given it a lotta thought...you and me, I mean, so I'm just gonna say it to ya plain. Its been six weeks since I brought ya here. Its a month we been together. Since Johnny Yardner...well, till you there was nobody else. Just Johnny."

An odd feeling came over him. He felt as if he knew what she was going to say and he wanted to halt it. He didn't want to hear those words.

"Mike," he felt a panic rising. It was important that she not say those words. "Mike, don't..."

"Dan, I think we should get married. I want more than this. I wanna family, kids. I think we need to get married."

There. It was out there on the table. He felt his head spinning and there was a strange sort of twinkling in his brain. He was sweating and he felt nauseous. He put his hand to his head.

"Dan? Are you alright?" She hurried to the kitchen to get him a cool, damp cloth for his head. "You're burning up with fever." She gave him some water to sip but he couldn't get his body to swallow.

"We're going to town right now. There's a doctor in Dodge City, He can help you."

He massaged his temples furiously. "Dodge City? You're taking me to Dodge?" The twinkling in his brain grew stronger. Dodge City. Why did that sound familiar to him? Had he been there before? Did it have a meaning in his life? He was struggling to breathe.

"Dan, I'm getting the buggy."

He nodded. "Get...the... buggy..." He could barely gasp the words.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Coming Home

Chapter 5

"Stay in the buggy, Matthew. Jes stay in the buggy..." Matt could barely hear the voices of his friends as he struggled for consciousness. They sounded so distant.

"Doc! Somethings happening!" Kitty continued to pat Matt's face with a cool, damp cloth.

"Buggy...she's getting the buggy..." Matt tossed his head from side to side and mumbled furiously.

Doc raced into the back room where Matt had lain unconscious on the bed for the past three weeks. "Come on, Matt. Kitty keep doin what you're doin.:

"Matt, don't leave me! Come back to me!" Kitty's voice was becoming clearer and she was swimming into focus

"Fight for it, Matt! You've gotta fight to come back to us!" Doc's voice was pleading.

With a sudden clarity and a jolt, Matt sat straight up in the bed. He looked at the faces of his friends. They looked so frightened. He looked around the room.

"Where is she?"

Doc smiled. Those was the first words Matt had spoken in three weeks and he was asking for Kitty. Funny, though, Kitty was sitting right next to him on the bed.

"Well, Kitty's right here, Matt." Doc frowned. "Can't you see her?"

Matt felt so confused. "Kitty? I mean, Mike. Where is she?"

Now his friends felt confused. "Who's Mike?"

Matt rubbed his forehead. "She found me in the desert and she took care of me. She brought me here to see you, Doc. We were together." He watched Kitty's face as he spoke the last words. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I wouldn't hurt you for the world."

Kitty and Festus exchanged confused looks. What in the world was he talking about?

Doc placed his hands on Kitty's shoulders and physically moved her away from Matt. He sat on the bed next to Matt, who was quite confused himself.

"Matt, I want you to listen to me now. There is no Mike here. I don't know who he is."

"No, Doc. Mike is a woman. Mike Yardner. She found me in the desert. I'd been shot, almost dead. She took care of me. She's in love with me. I care for her," he looked up at Kitty. "I don't love her but I care for her."

"Matt, you're confused. You've had a bad head injury and you've been unconscious for 3 weeks but you've been here, in my office the whole time." Doc placed his hand on Matt's forehead to determine the intensity of his fever.

Matt held his head in his hands. "No, Doc. She found me and took me back to her house. She nursed me. She wants me to stay with her, marry her." He looked at Kitty. "I don't wanna marry her. I love you."

Doc's voice was gentle. "Matt, believe me when I tell you that you have been right here the whole time. Festus found you on the prairie, not the desert. Your head was grazed by a bullet but the real injury was when you were hit in the head with something. If I had to guess, I would say it was a rifle butt."

Festus spoke up. "I found ya Matthew. You wuz layin on the ground. That yayhoo Lester Dean had shot at ya and hit ya with sumpthin. He shot at me, too, Matthew and I had to kill 'im."

Matt had a flash of memory. "Lester Dean...I was followin him. He killed a gambler and I had to bring him in."

"Yes, Matt." Kitty replaced Doc, sitting at Matt's side. "You went after him and you were hurt. Festus found you and brought you back here. Festus followed you out because you didn't want him to go with you, thats how he found you. He followed you."

Matt massaged his temples. "Mike nursed me. She took care of me." He looked in Kitty's eyes. "She fell in love with me."

Doc put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "No, Matt. Kitty nursed you. She's been here the whole 3 weeks. She hasn't left your side for a minute."

"Kitty?"

All three friends nodded. "It was Kitty, Matt. No one named Mike has been here and you have been in my office since Festus found you on the prairie."

Matt leaned back against the headboard. "Mike doesn't exist?"

Doc squeezed his shoulder. He thought of Matt as a son and it was hard to see him so confused after he had struggled so hard to stay alive.

"She asked me to stay with her on the farm." His voice was pleading for clarity.

"Kitty was the one who was beggin you to stay, Matt. She was beggin you not to die."

Matt's eyes found Kitty's. "Did you ask me to marry you?"

Kitty laughed in spite of herself. "Oh Cowboy, that's some head injury you have there. I don't know how hard I'd have to be hit in the head to think you're the marryin kind."

Matt chuckled at that as well. "I didn't remember you, Kitty." He looked around the room. "I didn't remember any of you."

"Well, Matt, you were unconscious so, no, you didn't remember anyone or anything. Thanks to the expertise of your personal physician, though, you're gonna make a full recovery." Doc never missed an opportunity to appreciate himself.

They all grinned.

"Its good to have you back, Cowboy."

"Its good to be back I guess. It just seemed so real."

Doc sighed. "Matt, the human brain is an amazing thing. We don't know very much about how it works. Someday we'll know more. I think that inventing Mike was your brain's way of dealing with the trauma it had."

Matt nodded slowly. "Can I have some water?"

Kitty poured a glass from the pitcher on the chest of drawers and handed it to him. "Sip it slowly, Matt."

He sipped the water. "I'm tired."

Doc began to shoo Kitty and Festus out the door. "Then you need to get some rest. You've had quite a shock. It'll look better to you in the morning."

It did look better to Matt in the morning. As the days passed, he grew stronger physically and mentally. Kitty spent her days and the better part of her nights with him, making sure he had what he needed. Festus looked in several times a day and Doc, of course, was always there. Matt was well taken care of and he flourished.

When he was finally well enough to take a meal at Delmonico's, he found himself seated at table with Kitty and he ordered the biggest steak they had. Kitty laughed and was relieved his appetite had returned.

"You know, Kitty, I've been thinking about that whole relationship I dreamed. The one with Mike, ya know."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Yah, Matt, I know. Have you dreamed any other relationships you wanna tell me about? Other than the one with Mike I mean."

Matt smiled sheepishly. "No, just the one. Anyway, I was thinking about you proposin to me the way you did."

"Cowboy, I told you. I didn't propose. I think you need to go back to bed. You're still not well."

"Well, thats too bad cuz I was thinking it might not be such a bad idea."

Kitty's fork stopped midway to her mouth and hung in the air. "What did you say?"

"I said, I'm not sure it would be a such a terrible thing if you proposed to me."

Kitty shook her head knowingly. "Thats not gonna happen, Matt. If you wanna marry me, you do the askin but I'm not gonna hold my breath."

Matt grinned. "No, don't hold your breath but don't be surprised either. I sorta liked havin a home, bein settled. Makes me think I might be missin somethin."

Kitty put her hand on his. "You think about that, Matt, and be real sure. No 'sorta likin' it cuz if you ask me, I'm gonna say yes. Count on it."

Matt nodded and took a big bite of his steak. "I'll be sure, Kitty. Just don't get tired of waiting."

"If I can wait this long, I can wait a while longer. Should I get some buckshot to help ya decide?"

"No, just don't give up on me, Kitty. Don't give up on me."

The End


End file.
